


Stars at elbow and foot

by wolfodder



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Character Death, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-23 05:44:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4865270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfodder/pseuds/wolfodder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Though lovers be lost love shall not. Break in the sun till the sun breaks down. And death shall have no dominion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stars at elbow and foot

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the fic project [ateliers](http://ateliers.livejournal.com%22), a project based on art/literature. My prompt was the poem “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” by Dylan Thomas. Thank you so much to Alex for betaing and helping me develop a decent sort of plot for this fic and Su for also reading through it for me! Hope you all like it!

I.

 

A loving couple cuddle in a boat.

They are setting their sails for the Caribbean Islands. Around them is nothing but sea, but they like it that way. It is cold, because a wind has set in, enough to have the boat moving. Even in the cold, the couple don't mind because the Caribbean Islands will be lovely when they arrive.

 

“Imagine how beautiful it must be to see the island up close,” says the younger one with a dreamy smile.

 

The older one smiles at him. “Probably gorgeous. Like my boyfriend Jongdae,” he says with a grin.

 

A laugh bubbles out of the younger man's throat. “You're so cheesy and I love it.” He stands up to move forward and straddle his boyfriend, leaning into the man's lips, pressing his own to them. “I love you so much, Junmyeon.”

 

“Mm, love you too. So much.” The older wraps his arms around the younger man's waist.

Around them the wind starts to blow more harshly, making the boat wobble in the water. The moon starts to rise in the west, and the two men huddle closer to protect themselves from the wind.

 

“I think there's a storm coming,” the younger says nervously, gazing up at the sky. The clouds are a dark gray.

 

“Don't worry, it'll be fine. Nothing bad ever happens to us,” his boyfriend replies, though his eyes seem to betray his own worry.

 

A strong gust of wind interrupts their conversation, and the boat wobbles even more. Then the raindrops start to fall; first only a light drizzle, then a full-on shower. The clouds rumble angrily, thundering loudly, and the men in the boat hold each other tightly.

 

“Junmyeon, this is really bad,” the youngest exclaims, shouting over the thunder. “We only have a small boat, we'll never get through this storm!” A burst of lightning around them makes him jump in surprise.

 

The elder does not reply this time, just stares around him in fear, clutching at his boyfriend. He screams when large waves approach them, the boat surfing them like a toy being lifted up by a child. The youngest falls over, dragging the other with him. The boat wobbles precariously, and the moon in the west is nearing its peak.

 

The wind gets stronger. The boat finally tips over. With loud screams, the couple fall with the boat, being dumped into the water.

 

The elder reaches the surface first, gasping for air and looking for his boyfriend. The other reaches the surface soon after.

 

“Jongdae!” the elder shouts. “We have to get to land!” But he frantically looks around him and the only trace of land he can find is too far away on the horizon to reach before the waves will overcome them.

 

Instead, the youngest clutches at the boat, trying to turn it around, without luck. “Help me,” he exclaims and holds on for dear life. His boyfriend tries to help turning the boat around but the waves keep coming.

 

There is no hope.

 

“I'm so scared,” the youngest admits. The other whispers his agreements, kissing his lover one last time.

 

Gulls cry at their ears, and the waves break loud on their boat. They hold on to each other as the next waves wash over them, and in the end they cannot stay above the water.

 

The world goes black.

 

~

 

 

The day is hot and dry, the streets are silent.

 

A tall, young man is watching the TV rather loudly, phone at his ear and dinner forgotten in the oven.

 

“I'm telling you, Kyungsoo, this show is hilarious. You  _have_ to see it,” he says, laughing at the show.

 

 _“I've already seen the first episode and it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever watched,”_ a voice comes dryly through the receiver. _“But do feel free to watch it on your own time.”_

 

“You should give it a chance,” the older whines, “but fine, be that way.” The scent of smoke reaches his nose, but he thinks nothing of it. He had friends over earlier and some of them smoked in the apartment, so it's just remnants of that.

 

He keeps his younger friend on the line as he watches the show, fingers playing with a blanket on his couch. “You coming over later?”

 

 _“I don't think so, it's getting late and I'm going to need a good night's sleep before work tomorrow,”_ the other replies.

 

The older hums in reply. “Okay. This weekend, then?” He coughs, realizing that now there is smoke coming out of the kitchen and this is definitely not after his friends were over. The smoke alarm suddenly goes off, loud beeping alerting him that he should do something.

 

_“Sure.”_

 

“Um, Kyungsoo, I have to go.” He drops the phone on his couch, hearing _“Chanyeol? Chanyeol, what's going on? Chanyeol?”_ come out of the receiver. He grabs the blanket and covers his nose and mouth as he enters the kitchen that is now filled with dark smoke.

 

He has forgotten his food in the oven on a very high temperature, and the food is now burning.

 

The man realizes too late that the fire has not only produced very much smoke, but it has also spread out of the oven.

 

Automatically he removes the blanket from his face and accidentally breathes in the smoke. He doubles over coughing, ending up on his hands and knees to crawl across the floor. The heat is unbearable, and turns out to be even worse because his sweater has caught on fire somehow. He wants to scream, but his voice is failing him from the smoke taking place in his lungs and as he coughs he takes in more smoke

 

 _I'm going to die,_ he thinks in terror, unable to do anything other than scratch at the kitchen tiles. He falls over on his back, coughing and staring up at a dark cloud of smoke as it overcomes him.

 

Outside, the moon slowly starts to rise in the west.

 

The world goes black.

 

 

 

 

II.

 

 

Junmyeon awakes with one thing on his mind.

 

_Jongdae._

 

But the place he is in is strange, for it is dark and there are fish floating by and seaweed flowing peacefully in the wind. A familiar-looking boat is crashed into the sand close to him.

 

He is at the bottom of the ocean.

 

When he lifts his gaze above him he sees a light, under the windings of the sea, and kicks off the ground that he is standing on to swim up.

 

Though he sink through the sea he shall rise again.

 

Reaching the surface after some time, he climbs out of the water and stands on top of it without sinking.

 

His skin feels surprisingly smooth, and when he looks down at his hand it is as clear and translucent as water.

 

His entire body feels the same way when he considers it.

 

He _is_ water, he realizes.

Stars are floating around him, blinking and shining peacefully. Nothing here feels earthly.

The wind approaches him at high speed, in the shape of a man. _Follow me. I'll help you find the one you lost._

“Jongdae,” says Junmyeon, his voice sore.

 

_Yes. Follow me and you will find him._

 

Then he flies away, and Junmyeon eagerly follows, feeling ever so fluid as he runs after the man in the wind.

 

Though lovers be lost, love shall not.

 

And death shall have no dominion.

 

~

 

 

When Chanyeol wakes the fire is still burning, but rain slowly extinguishes it.

 

He only thinks to question the fact that it is raining inside when he sits up. Then he realizes that he is not inside at all.

 

It is dark all around him save for the thousands of dots of light that look a little like stars. When he reaches out, he finds himself unable to reach them, concluding that they must be on the sky.

 

His throat is burning.

 

 _All of_ _me is burning._

 

Lifting his hand, he sees that it looks almost like lava. His entire body is fire. He finds himself not utterly terrified, but rather fascinated. It looks a lot like how he thinks the sun looks up close.

 

There is a gust of wind, and he sees the shape of a person take form in it.

 

 _Follow me,_ the shape whispers. It is carried along with the wind. _I will take you to where you need to be._

 

“Who are you? Where is that?” asks Chanyeol.

 

 _I am_ _the wind_ _,_ says the shape. _You_ _are fire. You_ _will break in the_ _Sun, and you will become it. Follow me._

 

With that, the wind moves on. Not knowing anything else, Chanyeol follows despite not understanding, and leaves the ground burning in his wake.

 

And death shall have no dominion.

 

 

 

 

III.

 

 

The man in the wind was once just a man.

 

People start to run the other way when a tornado hits his city. Screams and cries fill the air, as well as the horrible noise of the tornado's destruction. Entire buildings start to break, and trees are caught up in the whirlwind. Even some people are being taken away, never to be seen again.

 

May they rest in peace, he thinks, making his way through the stream of people running away. Going t _owards_ the storm that seems to be whispering his name, even though it's probably just his imagination now that he thinks about it.

 

_Sehun. Sehun._

 

He stops, thinking about what he's really doing. What _is_ he really doing? The tornado will kill him, that's for certain.

 

There's no more time to think. He's alone, left for dead by everyone who was around him, the tornado about to hit him.

 

He is sucked up into the air, and for a fraction of a second he can see the entire city, and the moon about to rise in the west. Then all he can hear is the wind roaring in his ears, violently tearing him apart.

 

The world goes black.

 

~

 

He comes to as the tornado deflates underneath him, gently lowering him to the ground.

 

It is in a different place. This ground isn't earthly soil. It's unfamiliar and strange, fleeting. In fact, he is not even standing on it at all.

 

He is hovering a foot above the ground, definitely no longer himself. No longer alive.

 

He sees what looks like stars floating around him, like the universe is spanning infinitely around _him_. He isn't earthly, not anymore.

 

The roaring wind is all around him but he doesn't feel it.

 

The roaring wind is _him_ , he realizes.

 

 _Sehun,_ he whispers. _That's me._

 

His body is no longer corporeal, only a shape in the wind. _He is the wind._

 

He knows he is dead because being alive does not feel like this. Like he is temporary, fleeting, until he flies off to somewhere else. He can _fly_.

 

He flies, disappearing with the roaring wind, a tornado that has been tamed.

 

He is the man in the wind, the one who will show many others where they should be. This is where _he_ is meant to be.

 

Death shall have no dominion.


End file.
